Senior Accountant - Cost Savings & Process Improvement

Vision Statement: Innovating the solutions that power the world’s best entertaining and food service experiences.

Mission Statement: Perlick is a 5th generation family business that serves as an essential partner in the commercial food service and residential appliance industries.  We put our customers first in everything we do by engaging a team of world class associates to develop, produce, and deliver premium products and customer experiences that provide a lifetime of exceptional value.

Perlick Values: Lead By Serving – others before self, Grow by Innovation – solutions that exceed our customers’ expectations, Continuous Improvement – strive to get better every day, Live the Legacy – maintain our positive reputations with the future in mind

SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Vice President, Finance, the Senior Accountant – Cost Savings & Process Improvement strengthens the organization’s financial performance by leading cost‑reduction initiatives, enhancing processes, and applying strong accounting expertise. Working closely with Operations, Plant Leadership, and cross‑functional teams, the role identifies, quantifies, and tracks savings opportunities while improving financial transparency across the enterprise. Although a dedicated Cost Accountant already supports the team, this position provides broader financial leadership, acting as a key liaison between accounting and the business to drive sustainable improvements and support better decision‑making.

Beyond cost‑savings and process‑improvement efforts, the role delivers core senior‑level accounting responsibilities, including daily operational accounting, monthly journal entries, general ledger reconciliations, and support for the financial close. The Senior Accountant manages fixed‑asset accounting, prepares key balance‑sheet reconciliations, and communicates financial insights to non‑finance stakeholders. The position is also responsible for identifying internal‑control weaknesses, recommending improvements, and serving as a subject‑matter expert on cross‑functional initiatives involving operational, regulatory, or business changes.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES & REPONSIBILITIES: This list of duties and responsibilities is not all inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities, as management may deem necessary from time to time.

Cost Savings & Process Improvement

• Identify, evaluate, and support cost savings initiatives across plant operations, supply chain, and overhead functions, in partnership with Operations, Engineering, Procurement, and Plant Leadership
• Independently analyze spending, operational processes, and financial data to surface opportunities for efficiency and cost reduction
• Quantify, validate, and track cost savings initiatives to ensure accuracy, sustainability, and alignment with financial results
• Support continuous improvement efforts by streamlining financial and operational processes, reducing manual work, and improving data quality
• Develop and maintain financial models and analyses to support business cases, ROI assessments, and prioritization of improvement initiatives
• Partner with the Cost Accountant to ensure alignment between standard costing, operational insights, and realized savings without duplication of effort
• Identify and implement a minimum of $200,000 in annualized cost savings each year.

Core Accounting & Financial Support

• Own fixed asset accounting, including capitalization, depreciation, disposals, physical inventory coordination, and reconciliation to the general ledger
• Prepare and review complex balance sheet account reconciliations and ensure timely resolution of reconciling items
• Support monthly close activities, including journal entries, variance analysis, and financial review
• Ensure compliance with accounting policies, internal controls, and audit requirements
• Support external and internal audit requests related to assigned areas of responsibility
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for accounting functions, ensuring consistency and best practices.
• Collaborate with the Cost Accountant through structured cross‑training and knowledge sharing to support continuity of key cost‑accounting processes, ensuring appropriate coverage, documentation, and understanding of workflows during planned absences, transitions, or business needs.

Business Partnership & Reporting

• Prepare and present clear, actionable financial information to business owners and non‑finance leaders
• Translate financial data into operational insights that support decision‑making at the plant and functional level
• Partner with leadership to explain variances, trends, and cost drivers in a concise and business‑focused manner
• Support enterprise initiatives related to data integrity, system improvements, cloud migration readiness, and AI enablement
• All other duties and projects as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance
• 5+ years of progressive accounting or finance experience, preferably in a manufacturing or operations‑focused environment
• Strong understanding of cost drivers, operational finance, and process improvement concepts
• Demonstrated ability to identify and quantify cost savings or efficiency improvements
• Advanced Excel skills and strong financial analysis capabilities
• Ability to communicate complex financial information clearly to non‑finance stakeholders
• Experience with ERP systems and system/process implementations

Preferred Qualifications:

• CPA or CMA designation
• Experience working closely with plant operations or manufacturing leadership
• Exposure to continuous improvement, Lean, or operational excellence initiatives

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Exhibits core cultural behaviors that reflect Perlick’s values to support our mission and vision. 
• Being Resilient: Remains objective and calm when faced with adversity. Grows from hardships and difficult experiences. Manages crises and volatile situations effectively. Helps others recover momentum and confidence after failures or setbacks.
• Drives Engagement: Empowers others with meaningful decision making and ownership. Ensures that all team members are motivated to work toward common goals. Celebrates the team’s successes along the way. Provides praise, recognition, and rewards for strong performance.
• Plans and Aligns: Addresses risks and contingencies as part of the planning process. Finds the right balance between sticking to plans and adjusting them to changing conditions. Ensures that the team’s plans and priorities are aligned and coordinated across different areas of the organization. Plans ahead to make sure critical resources are lined up for organizational priorities.
• Self-Development: Aligns own development plans with the goals and values of the organization. Continuously improves own leadership capabilities. Models personal development by continuously expanding own knowledge and skills. Pursues challenging assignments and career opportunities that stretch and build own capabilities.

PHYSICAL/SENSORY DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Daily work may include sitting, bending, standing, crouching, reaching, and some lifting (up to 25 lbs.).

Perlick is an Equal Opportunity Employer and participates in E-Verify. Perlick does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status.

Sponsorship and/or relocation are not available for this position.

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